Police can shoot a dog if it poses an "imminent threat" while an officer executes a search warrant, a federal appeals court in Michigan ruled last week.

The ruling stemmed from a 2013 incident in Battle Creek, Mich., when officers fatally shot two pit bulls while executing a search warrant at a home for evidence of drugs.

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In the lawsuit, the owners, Mark and Cheryl Brown, claimed the city and Battle Creek Police Department violated their Fourth Amendment rights because killing the dogs amounted to an unreasonable seizure of property. On March 29 of this year, a district court ruled in favor of the police, citing a lack of evidence by the plaintiffs to prove their claims or that the department training policy for dealing with dogs is inadequate.

Following an appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on Dec. 19 "a police officer’s use of deadly force against a dog while executing a warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when, given the totality of the circumstances and viewed from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer’s safety."

During the incident, Mark Brown was detained outside of his home. Officers then approached the house, noting a "Beware of Dog" sign. They testified they could also see two pit bulls barking, "digging and pawing" and "jumping" at the window. Brown testified the dogs were not barking and one he had owned for a year "never barked a day in her life."

After breaching the door with a ram, Officer Christof Klein testified one dog lunged at him from a couch while another ran to the basement. Klein fired a shot at the first dog, testifying he "hit" it with a non-lethal shot but was "aiming at its head." The dog then moved to the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement. As the officers moved down the stairs top search the "loaded" basement, the dog began barking again and Klein fired two fatal shots.

The second dog was in the basement, turned sideways and barking at the officers. Klein fired two rounds at it. As the dog moved to the corner of the basement, Officer Damon Young testified he shot it again when the dog moved toward him. At that point, Officer Jeffrey Case "didn't want to see it suffer," so he fired one last fatal shot.

The BCPD says officers may use firearms when one believes the action is in "defense of human life, including the officer's own life." The department also defines a "vicious dog" as one "either unmuzzled or unleashed, when not confined to the owner, menaces a person in a manner which an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude to be an apparent attitude of attack."